Reading Eagle: Bill Uhrich |
A bill in the state Legislature would require PennDOT to put protective fencing on bridges over interstate highways. Last months, three Berks County juveniles were charged with throwing rocks off a bridge crossing Interstate 78.

Reading Eagle: Bill Uhrich |
Traffic moves east on Thursday along Interstate 78 into Berks County in this view looking west from Mt. Zion Road, just outside the Berks line in Lebanon County. Expect traffic to worsen beginning today as people travel for the Fourth of July weekend.

Bill would require putting fencing over interstates

The goal is to prevent people from throwing rocks off bridges. Three juveniles in Berks were charged with tossing rocks onto Interstate 78.

Written by Reading Eagle

Lawmakers are moving a bill that would require protective fencing over interstate highways.

Last week, the state Senate approved a bill that would require PennDOT to put fencing on bridges over interstate highways. The state Department of Transportation would be compelled to put fencing over new bridges and any bridges undergoing repairs.

State Sen. Gene Yaw, a Lycoming County Republican, sponsored the bill.

The bill was inspired by Sharon Budd, an Ohio woman who suffered serious head injuries when a rock fell from an overpass, crashed through her car's windshield and struck her in the face. Budd's husband, Randy, petitioned for a law to protect others from suffering as his wife did.

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"Sadly, this is just one of many incidents reported across the Commonwealth where objects have been repeatedly released from overpasses. The problem continues to be danger as evidenced by recent events," Yaw said in a statement.

Earlier this month, police arrested three juveniles in Berks County for throwing rocks from a bridge over Interstate 78. State police say rocks hurled from the Power Drive overpass in Upper Tulpehocken Township struck two vehicles. No injuries were reported.